Friday, May 8, 2009

Pull up your pants!” That’s what the US government’s been telling ‘rebellious’ kids all over about wearing the very popular sagging or baggy jeans (called saggin’ by those who wear them).

After all, they say, how can you ever maintain ‘high’ ideals of morality and self respect with such ‘low’, bottom-revealing denimwear?The gen-gone-by, on the other hand, fails to understand why Gen i’s going down, down, down the saggin’ road. But, sagging jeans is not just a Westside story — kids in India are also going down that way, and they’ve stirred up quite a debate.

Low profile The new weapon of mass division in the country, this rebellion is brewing in low murmurs in every home. Sarita Gupta says, “My son is in Class XI and he only wears low-waist baggy jeans. I keep asking him to wear proper, fitting ones, but he doesn’t listen to me. In his language, he ‘gives a damn.’ Earlier, when I saw other kids wearing these things, I’d think, inke maa-baap kuch kehte kyun nahin, only to realise that my own kid was wearing them too! Even girls don’t seem to mind showing off their thongs! I’m not very old fashioned, but this is no fashion.”Sarita’s concerns are echoed by other parents as well. An MNC professional, Dinesh Chatterjee, says, “This is absolutely indecent. Imagine someone’s underwear or bottom staring at you! How can parents allow their kids to dress up like that? A friend told me that it’s a rebellion of sorts. Care to explain how and why?”

RebelspeakHowever, young ‘rebels’ don’t seem to mind all the attention and debate that they’re attracting. They, of course, have their own reason for sporting these pants, never mind the parents’ panga.

Anmol Samad, who wears his baggy jeans way low, has a tattoo on his biceps, sports some three or four ear studs and has also pierced his eyebrow. He says, “It’s a cool fashion trend! Tight-fitting pants are for oldies. Check out my pants, aren’t they cool?” However, it’s not all style, apparently, it also serves a purpose. As Abhishek Kahn says, “Some people wear it to hide their skinny legs.” Sanchit Das wears his pants low because it’s more comfortable and airy that way.But, is the saggin’ worth the naggin’ at home? Sylvester Samson doesn’t seem to mind that. “Earlier, I used to get shouted at, but now they know these pants won’t go up. Why, my school pants were low too, and teachers would often pull them up for me,” he says.

And, even that didn’t deter them? Avison Varghese laughs and says, “Kitnon ki upar karenge, the entire school wears them low now.” Sanchit is more in your face, “If you don’t like my baggy jeans, you have the option of checking out my branded undies. And if you don’t like that too, then just turn your face away.”Co-up-eration

The kids may give a damn, but parents are trying their best to do some damage control and, in the process, are coming up with innovative solutions. Sarita says, “I’ve bought my kids long t-shirts to cover their waists. Thankfully, they wear it because long t-shirts too are hip-hop stuff.” Sunita Biswas, a mother of two, says, “My daughters wear very low-waist jeans. So, I have bought them some gowns and balloon dresses to wean them away from this embarrassing piece of clothing.”